Study religions from east to west, north to south

As a religious studies major at Missouri State University, you can explore all types of religion, learn to think critically and become an excellent researcher and writer. You will benefit from one-on-one attention from one of the largest faculties in the Midwest, and get to study at one of the oldest and largest religious studies undergraduate programs in the state.

Our program also offers exceptional preparation to enter graduate school or seminary.

Options for you

Our program offers you the opportunity to complete the undergraduate religious studies degree as either a Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts degree. If you are interested in learning another language, the BA degree may be right for you, as it requires 12 hours of foreign language while the BS degree does not. Both degrees are non-comprehensive, therefore each requires a minor or a second major.

World Religions Lived in Missouri:A Senior Honors Project

by MSU Religious Studies alumna Julie Wrocklage

So we must listen to understand, but we must also listen to put into play the compassion that the wisdom traditions all enjoin, for it is impossible to love another without hearing that other. If we are to be true to these religions, we must attend to others as deeply and as alertly as we hope that they will attend to us.

- Huston Smith, The World’s Religions (NY: Harper Collins, 1991)

When I tell people I am a Religious Studies major, I get a variety of responses. [I explain] that my degree is not the same as a degree one might get at a seminary; instead of focusing on one religion subjectively, I am learning about a variety of world religions objectively. My goal is to develop cultural competence; I am developing critical thinking skills and the ability to communicate, which is needed in any profession.

For this project, I interviewed twenty individuals within five of the major world religions: Buddhism, Christianity (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant), Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. My motivation here lies in my commitment to diversity. Diversity is essential because in interacting with those from different cultures and different religions I have found that we are united in our humanness no matter what our spiritual preferences… I hope that the videos I’ve produced will serve as a tool in educating people about religion, with the ultimate goal of understanding among diverse groups.